Improved latch for railroad-car doors



Jim/7m; m, L flak 0205. 5 Carina",

JVQQ J; 44%, 1 5122224 65] 750.13, 1564.

N- FETERS, PHOTO L THOGRAP latch at the first essay or attempt, repeatedUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN STEPHENSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVED LATCH FOR RAILROAD-CAR DOORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 45,442. dated December13, 1864.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN STEPHENSON, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and Improved Latch for Sliding Doors,designed more especially for city railroad'car doors; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part ofthis specification, in which Figure l is a side sectional view of myinvention, taken in the line .90 .12, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a plan or top viewof the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

This invention relates to animproved latch of that class in which theparts are arranged with the handles of the same in such a manner thatwhen force is applied to the handles in order to disengage the latch, inorder to release the door, the same force, or its con tinuation in thesame direction, will serve to slide open the door, thereby rendering butone manipulation necessary in order to effect the above result.

The object of the within-described invention is to obtain a latch of theclass specified, which will be capable of being manipulated with greaterfacility than those previously devised, and one which any person unac-'quainted with would naturally operate or untrials being frequentlyrequired by strangers before they can open the latches of the classhitherto used on city horse-cars.

A represents the case of the latch, which may be of any proper ordesired form, and B represents the latch-bolt, which is formed i with ahook, a, at its outer end, as shown clearly in Fig. l. The inner end ofthe latch is formed with a cylindrical hub having a square hole, a, madecentrally through it to admit of the insertion of a corresponding shapedarbor, C, said arbor passing entirely upper side of the latch and thetop of the case A, and has a tendency to keep the latch B down upon thehorizontal portion 1) of a projection, c, in the case, in which positionthe latch, when the door is closed, is engaged with a catch, F, attachedto the door-jamb,

and the door secured in a closed state. (See Fig. 1.)

in order to unlatch the latch and release the door, the operator pressesthe handle D at either side of the door backward or in the direction inwhich the door slides open, (see arrow 1,) and the handle is therebyturned so as to raise the book a of the latch free from the catch F, andthe continuation of the same force will slide open the door. The handlesD D, it will be seen, are in an upright position, convenient to beoperated upon, so that no difficulty whatever will be experienced by anyone in nnlatching and sliding open the door.

I am aware that it is not new to so construct a door-catch that the doormay be unfastened and slid back with one motion. 7

Having thus described my in vention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- As a new article of manufacture, the doorfasteninghereinbefore described, consisting of the hooked latch B and twohandles, D D, rigidly secured upon and connected by the arbor G, thecasing A, spring E, and catch F, all constructed, arranged, and employedas specified.

JOHN STEPHENSON.

Vitnesses d J. P. HALL,

GrEO. W. REED.

